BOSTON — A week ago, the Bruins appeared to be in trouble again as Hampus Lindholm skated to the penalty box. Just 57 seconds into overtime against Washington, he was whisted for a four-minute, double-minor for a high stick that drew blood.
It seemed like the latest misfortune in the middle of a Bruins’ rough patch. They’d lost three out of four games in regulation and now faced killing a 4-on-3 penalty for all but three seconds remaining in overtime. It felt bleak.
But in the four minutes that followed the Bruins not only didn’t allow a goal, but only allowed four shots.
They survived overtime and forced a shootout that went to the fifth round before a Kevin Shattenkirk goal and a Jeremy Swayman save gave the Bruins a victory.
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The win put Boston back in first place, but more importantly back on track. It was the first game of a winning streak that reached four consecutive victories with Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over Florida.
“Ever since we killed that four-minute, 4-on-3 off in Washington, not only our penalty kill, but our group has gotten a lot of confidence from that,” Montgomery said. “We pulled out a win. Now it’s four games in a row where we’ve pulled out wins in the third.”
There have been ups and downs all year. At their best, the Bruins have been a very good regular-season hockey team this year. This week against two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, Boston has started to look a lot like the best version of itself again.
“We’re just trying to put together our best team. We’ve played a lot of good teams here recently. For us, it’s not so much about the opponent, but ourselves. We’re trying to round into form,” said Charlie McAvoy, who had one of Boston’s three goals in Saturday’s win. “It’s fun. It’s emotional. You don’t want to cross over, But sometimes it’s fine. It’s hockey. You’re allowed to get emotional. Try and let that bring out the best in you. You can step to the line. Just don’t cross it. I thought both teams played hard and it was a really good hockey game.”
How that translates in the playoffs is hard to figure. The Bruins are 35-17 in regulation play and have played 26 games — an absurd total — that were tied after regulation. Since shootouts are nonexistent and three-on-three overtime doesn’t remotely resemble playoff overtime, that’s 26 games that make for lousy data points when predicting what’s to come.
But against Nashville and Carolina this week, the Bruins were better at closing out games than they’ve been. Many of those games that went to overtime got there because Boston wasn’t good at holding late leads. They looked much better at that vs. the Predators and Hurricanes.
Both goalies are playing well again. Jeremy Swayman was great vs. Carolina on Thursday and Linus Ullmark has been outstanding in back-to-back games.
Saturday was a terrific playoff tuneup in a charged atmosphere at TD Garden. It had a close approximation of playoff nastiness between two teams who like not liking each other. But it wasn’t the real deal. Playing big games for a division title or the Presidents’ Trophy doesn’t compare to real playoff games.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be on division-winning teams and Presidents’ Trophy-winning teams. It’s awesome, but no one remembers that,” McAvoy said. “You’d give it back for a cup. I’m not really concerned with that.”
Saturday’s game felt like a well-done trailer for a much-anticipated movie and it left the Bruins eager for postseason to arrive.
“The crowd helped out a lot too. It was a lot of fun,” Ullmark said. “Nothing really replicates the playoffs. That’s a totally different piece when it comes to energy and battles and fighting and intensity. Obviously, it’s a step in the right direction and the fun direction as well.”
Montgomery shared his players’ anticipation with just four regular season games left.
“The physicality of it. The intensity between the players, especially after whistles,” he said. “You can tell we’re getting close.”
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
